Treatment of vegetable parchment



Patented amaze, 1924.

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ARTHUR HOUGH, OF SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY.

TREATMENT OF VEGETABLE IPARCHMENT.

Ro Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that ARTHUR HoUcH, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Summit, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Treatment of Vegetable Parchment, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in the preparation of parchment paper which is commonly referred to as-vegetable parchment.

As is well known, vegetable parchment is prepared by treating paper with sulfuric acid of a proper strength, and subsequently washing to remove the acid, after which the parchment is dried. After drying the vegetable parchment is somewhat brittle, and if not brittle when first made, it is likely to become brittle on long storage, particularly in very dry rooms.

I have found that it is possible to keep vegetable parchment permanently soft, by coating the same with a small quantity of a glycol. For ordinary purposes I prefer to use ethylene glycol, this being a dihydric alcohol which is already well known and which is described in numerous text books of organic chemistry. This material has properties which render it especially suitable for use, in the form of a thin coating, on vegetable parchment. It has a favorable degree of viscosity, can readily be prepared in a very pure condition, and it possesses no injurious effects upon the human system,

which latter properties render it particularly desirable, when the parchment paper is to be used for wrapping food products.

Application filed April 23, 1923. Serial No. 634,181.

For ordinary purposes I find that the ap-. plication of approximately 200 pounds of ethylene glycol to each ton of paper gives very satisfactory results, the same being applied as a particularly uniform coating over one or both sides of the parchment. The

parchment can then be rolled up in the form of rolls or stored in the form of sheets, and does not become brittle by the excessive drying out. It will be understood that in place of the simple glycol, its polymers would likewise be employed, for instance diethylene glycol, the term ethylene lycol as used in this application is inten ed to cover the polymers as well. The glycol is somewhat hygroscopic and takes up a certain amount of moisture from the atmosphere, retaining the necessary quantity of moisture in the paper at all times to prevent the paper from ecoming brittle owing to excessive dryin ARTHUR HOUGH.

Witnesses:

J. F. WELLER, EUGENE Jon. 

